Gerard: My name is Gerard van Wezel. I was born 3 September 1924 in Amsterdam. We moved to Indonesia when I was 4.

I was at high school when the Japanese invaded and I joined what the Dutch call 'stadswacht', which translated that would mean 'city guard'. And then when the army surrendered I became a prisoner of war. The Japanese took us to Burma and I worked at the Burma railway until the line was finished. I was able to get on a ship that shipped evacuees back to Holland.

I was able to get to the evening technical school at night to study electrical engineering and worked during the day at Philips.

As an ex-serviceman I got assisted passage to Australia and in January 1952 I departed from Amsterdam with the Johan Van Oldenbarnevelt. I was seen off by my brother, my mother and my good friend. And that's where the trip to Australia started.

I'd met Australians during the war and they were a very relaxed kind of people and they offered me all sorts of suggestions. One of them even suggested I go cattle rustling with him in Queensland. Of course, it didn't work out that way. 

I had decided to get off the ship in Perth because I knew somebody, a friend of my brother's had an aunt there and I had taken up correspondence with her, and she met me at the ship and offered me accommodation. 

I saw an ad in the paper that a contractor building a refinery in Geelong, Victoria, wanted electricians. I applied for a job there and got the job. 

Marretje: I met Gerard on a blind date. A few friends of mine had wanted to go to 'The Taming of the Shrew' in Melbourne and they invited me to come along, and here was Gerard.

Gerard: She was a very nice girl and I started calling on her and visiting the family nearly every weekend. 

Marretje: We had the same kind of humour, we came from a similar kind of background, and important was that my mother and Gerard got on really well because they both had lived in Medan. Mum cooks nasi goreng and Gerard was, you couldn't keep him away from that. 

Gerard: While I was working in Geelong, I saw an ad in the paper for technical officers with the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Authority in Cooma, and I moved to Cooma and worked there for about a year when I invited Marretje to come over. 

Marretje: I was not prepared for a proposal. I'm so happy that it worked out okay, I couldn't have had a better man. Very happy.

Gerard: Well I made fairly quick promotion, I started as a technical officer grade 1 and in a few years I was a senior technical officer. 

Marretje: And I was alone in a small house. I think the teaching and getting students saved my sanity. As soon as I was starting teaching things came good. And then of course the children. I love children. We raised 3 children in Cooma, which was absolutely wonderful place to grow them up because it was so free.

Gerard: And in '72 the job was finished and a lot of people didn't know which way they would go from there. The government decided that they wanted to keep the engineering design group intact as a consultant organisation. So there were jobs on offer for Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation. And I was successful.  

On reflection I think migrating to Australia was the best thing I ever did, because there were many opportunities here that I wouldn't have had in Holland. 

Marretje: And wherever I come we've got people friendly and helping wherever we want and I think that's fantastic. 

Gerard: The best thing I ever did.